Desiree Tupua leads Lady Vikings to sweep


Siuslaw sophomore Desiree Tupua

Sophomore middle blocker Desiree Tupua figured in all three set points Thursday to lead the Siuslaw Vikings to a sweep of the Marist Catholic Spartans in a Sky-Em League volleyball match in Eugene.

Siuslaw won 3-0 by scores of 25-20, 25-23, 25-14.

The Lady Vikings, 2-3 overall and in league, host Marshfield on Tuesday and travel to Elmira on Thursday during next week's spring break.

Siuslaw closes the regular season with home matches March 30 against Junction City and April 1 against Cottage Grove.

Tupua's kill off the Marist Catholic block spun out of bounds for the third-set win. Freshman Ashley Hennessee served during an 8-0 run that took Siuslaw from a 12-9 lead to 20-9.

Tupua's tip return fell for a winner to end the second set which featured a 9-0 Siuslaw run behind the serving of freshman defensive specialist Meika Shappell.

Tupua served the final two points of the opening set, including an ace to close it out.

She finished with 13 kills and 3 blocks, according to Coast Radio.

First-year coach Ashlee Cole also had praise for junior libero Hayden Muller.

"She kept a lot of balls off the floor and really put her body on the line to make sure those balls didn't touch the floor," Cole told Coast Radio "Shee really had a lot of saves and a lot of perfect passes that carried us over for the win."

Marist Catholic fell to 2-5 overall and 2-3 league. The Lady Spartans opened the season with a 3-1 victory over Siuslaw in Florence on March 2.